Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. Analysis of genetic variants offers promise for guiding treatment and improving outcomes in RA. High-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) is a ubiquitous nuclear protein found in all mammal eukaryotic cells that participates in several biological functions including immune response, cell survival and apoptosis.
Int J Med Sci 2017, Vol 14 Ivyspring International Publisher 1382 International Journal of Medical Sciences 2017; 14(13): 1382-1388 doi: 10.7150/ijms.21773 Research Paper Prognostic significance of high-mobility group box protein genetic polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis disease outcome Li-Hong Wang1*, Min-Huan Wu2, 3*, Po-Chun Chen4, Chen-Ming Su5, Guohong Xu1, Chien-Chung Huang6, 7, Chun-Hao Tsai8, 9, Yuan-Li Huang10, Chih-Hsin Tang4, 8, 10 10 Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Dongyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang, Zhejiang, China; Physical Education Office, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan; Sports Recreation and Health Management Continuing Studies, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Biomedical Sciences Laboratory, Affiliated Dongyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang, Zhejiang, China; Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Biotechnology, College of Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan * These authors have contributed equally to this work Corresponding author: Chih-Hsin Tang, PhD, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Science, China Medical University E-mail: chtang@mail.cmu.edu.tw © Ivyspring International Publisher This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) See http://ivyspring.com/terms for full terms and conditions Received: 2017.07.05; Accepted: 2017.10.11; Published: 2017.11.02 Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints Analysis of genetic variants offers promise for guiding treatment and improving outcomes in RA High-mobility group box protein (HMGB1) is a ubiquitous nuclear protein found in all mammal eukaryotic cells that participates in several biological functions including immune response, cell survival and apoptosis We investigated the effects of HMGB1 gene polymorphisms on the risk of RA disease progression in a cohort of Chinese Han individuals Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the HMGB1 gene were selected and genotyped in 232 patients with RA and 353 healthy controls We found that having one C allele in rs1360485 and one G allele in rs2249825 polymorphisms lowered the risk of RA in females Moreover, among healthy controls, those who bore the C/G/T haplotype at SNPs rs1360485, rs2249825 and rs1412125 were at reduced risk of developing RA by 0.13-fold (p